Butter-cutter.



J. F. SCANLAN.

BUTTER CUTTER- APPLICATION FILED MAY 22. I912.

1,221,224 Patented. Apr. 3, 1917.

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J. F. SCANLA'N.

BUTTER CUTTER. APPLICATION FILED MAY 22. I912- Patented Apr. 53,1917.

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1. F. SCANLAN. BUTTER CUTTER. APPLICATION FILED MAY 22, 19].!-

Patent ed Apr. 3,1917.

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TlNliTETT %TAT% PATENT JOSEPH F. SCANLAN, NEW YORK, N. Y.

BUTTER-CUTTER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 3, 1917.

Application filed May 22, 1912. Serial No. 698,880.

ter-Cutters, of which the following is a specification.

One object of my invention is to provide a simple, compact, strong anddurable de vice for cutting butter or similar material kept in bulk, asin tubs, into parts, sections, bricks or prints, and which willaccomplish the same in an economic and sanitary manner, with a minimumamount of handling or exposure of the butter to the atmosphere.

Another object is the provision of means for automatically cutting aportion of a package of butter into parts, bricks or prints, and leavingthe remainder intact. Uther objects are the provision of means forautomatically impressing marks, such as trade marks, etc., ontothe faceof the bricks or prints, as they are out; such arrangements of partsthat the butter cannot contact with anything bearing oil or grease, andfully inclosing the apparatus, except the means for operating the same.Devices for decreasing the temperature are provided, in order to stillfurther assure the purity of the butter and to prevent disintegration.

Finally, without interfering with the compactness of the machine as anentity, means are provided for collecting and compacting the scraps orfragments, remaining after the regular sections or bricks have been cut,so that these collected scraps can be placed again in position for beingproperly cut.

The accompanying drawings illustrate the invention in one form inwhich,.

Figure 1 is a front elevation,

Fig. 2 a side elevation of the right side of Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 a plan view of the top of the machine,

Figs. 4 and 5, detail views of the means for fastening the stationarycutting members,

Fig. 6 a plan view of the compressing device,

Fig. 7a vertical cross section of the same, and

Figs. 8 and 9 details of construction of the operating devices.

A box or casing 1, of sufiicient height and strength, and having a top2, carries a pair of standards 3 and a, each containing, in suitablebearings, a vertical worm 5, provided at the lower end with a bevel gear6, engaged by a similar bevel gear 7, of the driving shaft 8 which islocated within the b0 1, and adapted to be rotated by means of the crank9.

Each of the worms 5 engages a nut 10, having integral therewith abracket 11, for supporting the platform 12. The turning of the crank 9causes vertical movement of the platform 12 andthe bulk of materialplaced thereon.

The upper ,end ofthe standards 3 and 4c is extended into a carryingframe 13, for

to the face 19, whichlatter forms the bean ing face for the ferrules 20,each of which is provided with a conical bore, for the purpose ofreceiving and securely holding the doubled-up end of the wire or band1 1. The other end of the wire is held by a screw 21, having acylindrical recess 22, for receiving the ferrules 23, in which the otherdoubled-up end is similarly held as in the ferrules 20.

The stationary-cutting members run from bar 16 tothe rod 17 over a crossbar 2 1, located near and parallel to the rod 17, and having notches orgrooves similar to the grooves 18 of the bar16. Proper tension may beapplied to the cutting members by turning the screws 21.

In order to alter and adjust the spaces between the members, the bars 16and 24: are provided with more grooves than necessary to receive thenumber of wires, and the rod 17 has lateral recesses 25, for receivingthe movable blocks 26, which, in turn, carry some of the holding andtension screws 21. The remainder of the screws 21are in permanentposition. According to the size of the bricks of material wanted, thewires 14 are so distanced as to cut-the bricks prop erly. The wires 15of the second set of stationary cutting members, are similarly securedto the bar 27 and the rod 28, and are located in thesame plane with thecutto which latter are secured the sheaves 33 and 34. The shaft 31 isrotatable by means of the crank 35 and rotation is imparted by thisshaft to the shaft 32 by means of the ropes 36 and 37, running over thesheaves. Each rope is connected to one of the car riages 38 and 39 androtation of the crank 35 causes the movement back and forth of thecarriages. The carriages form the support for bearing brackets 42 and43, adapted to receive the shaft 44 of the printing roller 45, to whichrotation is imparted by means of the pinions 46 and 47, engaging theracks 48 and 49. One of the carriages also holds a screw 50 for holdingone end of the moving cutting member 51, the other end of which issecured to the second carriage. This cutting member 51 moves in actualcontact with members 14 and 15, and its cutting action is, therefore,analogous to that of a pair of scissors, the advantage of which is thatthe cut is made without tearing or breaking the brick or print.

The printing roller 45 is provided with embossed characters and designsand presses into the top face of the bricks of butter, by passing overthe same at the time of their being cut into bricks.

The devices for collecting and compacting the scraps and fragments ofbutter, left after the cutting into bricks, are shown in Figs. 6 and 7and also in Figs. 1 and 2.

On top of the cover 2 of the box 1 and adjoining the standards 3 and 4,are the rail bars 52 and 53 and secured thereto are the side boards 54and 55. These boards form the side walls of a box or receptacle, ofwhich 56 is the bottom and 57 the back wall. The latter parts 56 and 57are integral and movable, as forthwith will be shown. The front wall ofthe box is shown at 58, as pivoted at 59 so that it may be swung out ofthe way, in order to facilitate the removal of the material from thecompressor. The top 60 of the compressor box forms the bottom of theplatform 12 and is vertically movable with the same. The bottom 56 ofthe compressor box is provided with a rack 61 that is adapted to meshwith a pinion 62 on the driving shaft 8.

' The cuttings, scraps and fragments of butter are collected in thecompressor box and, first, compressed in one direction by the loweringof the platform 12, 2'. e. the top 60 of the box, and then in anotherdirection, by moving the bottom 56 and back 57 by means of the rack 61and pinion 62 against the stationary front wall 58. The butter is thereby formed into a solid lump of substantially rectangular shape, ready tobe out further.

For the purpose of, either, lifting the platform 12 in order to cutbutter, or lowering the same, in order to compress scraps, and therebyholding the bottom plate 56 stationary, or holding the platform 12stationary and moving the bottom 56, the shaft 8 is provided with acollar 63, adapted to be engaged by a nut block 64, having a handle 65and movably held in a stationary casing 66, having a guide slot, so thatthe movement of the handle 65 in an angular plane to the axis of theshaft 8, causes axial displacement of the shaft and of all parts securedthereto. Fig. 1 of the drawings shows that the bevel gears 7 and thepinion 62 are secured to the shaft 8. Should it be desired to operatethe platform 12, then the gears 7 must be in mesh with the gears 6,while the pinion 62 is disengaged from the rack 61, as shown in solidlines in the drawing. In case, however, that the bottom 56 of thecompressor box should be moved, then the shaft is axially shifted, sothat the gears 7 become disengaged from the gears 6 and the pinion 62meshes with the rack 61, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1.

The means for determining the dimensions of the bricks of material and,therefore, their weight, are attached to the driving shaft 8 andcomprise a clutch member 67, secured to the shaft and capable ofengaging with a second clutch member on the loose sleeve 68. This sleeveis provided with a worm 69 adapted to mesh with a block 71 having anindex pointer 72, gliding along a scale plate 73. A stationary indexpointer 74 coiiperates with a scale arranged along the periphery of adisk which is also part of the sleeve 68. A knurled collar 75 permitsrotation by hand of the sleeve 68 and the index plate 7 O.

The refrigerating compartment 76 may be placed at or form a part of therear wall of the casing of the device. The front wall 77, Figs. 1 and 2,is preferably made of glass, as may also be one or both of the sidewalls 78. If desired, the rear wall formed by or covering therefrigerating compartment may consist of a reflecting surface, such as amirror.

In operating the machine, material, such as butter in bulk, as taken inthe shape of a frustum of a cone from the butter tubs, is placed uponthe platform 12 and raised by turning the crank 9, until its upper faceis in contact with the stationary cutting members. The shaft 8 is thenshifted so that the bevel gear 7 becomes disengaged from the gears 6.The index device is adjusted by turning by hand the knurled collar 75until both of the pointers 72 and 74 are set to zero. The shaft 8 isthen shifted until the bevel gears 6 and 7 are again in mesh and thecrank 9 is then turned until the pointers 72 and 74 indicate the properweight. Full pounds are shown by the pointer 72 While fractional poundsare shown by 74:. This operation results in forcing the butter throughthe stationary cutting members and a dividing the bulk vertically. Theturning of the crank 35 then completes the cutting into bricks by movingthe cutting wire 51 transversely across the stationary wires.

This operation is then repeated until the entire tub of butter has beencut into individual bricks or prints. The scraps and remnants arecollected and compressed in the manner heretofore described.

It will be understood, of course, that only one layer of bricks may becut at one time, as needed, and the remainder of the bulk of butter leftuncut on the platform. Inasmuch as the entire machine is inclosed in thecasing and exposed to the effect of the refrigerating means, the bulk ofbutter, as well as the bricks already cut, are kept from contamination,of which facts a customer can easily be made aware, by observing themachine through the glass Walls of the casing.

What I claim is:

1. The combination With a butter cutter of a butter compressor, aplatform common to both and adapted to be displaced parallel to itself,a second platform adapted to be displaced in its own plane, and meansfor alternately displacing said platforms.

2. The combination With a butter cutter, of a butter compressor, aplatform common to both and adapted to be displaced parallel to itself,a second platform adapted to be displaced in its own plane, a wallsecured to said second platform and displaceable therewith, a stationarywall substantially parallel to said displaceable wall, and means foralternately displacing said platforms.

3. The combination with a casing, of means within the casing for cuttingbutter, means without the casing for operating said butter cuttingmeans, and means within the casing for compressing butter operated bysaid butter cutting operating means.

l. The combination with a butter cutter, of a butter compressor, aplatform common to both and adapted to be displaced parallel to itself,a second platform adapted to be displaced in its own plane, means foralternately displacing said platforms, and means for determiningthedisplacement of said first platform.

The combination with a butter cutter, of a butter compressor, a platformcommon to both. and adapted to be displaced parallel to itself, a secondplatform adapted to be displaced in its own plane, means for alternatelydisplacing said platform, and means for determining the displacement inone direction of said first platform.

6. The combination with a butter cutter, of a platform adapted to bedisplaced parallel to itself, rotatable means for displacing saidplatform, and rotatable means for determining the displacement of saidplat- I ing said platform, and rotatable means for determining thedisplacement in one direction of said platform.

8. The cornbinationwith a butter cutter, of a platform adapted to bedisplaced parallel to itself, rotatable means for displacing saidplatform, a clutch on said rotatable means, and means operated by saidclutch for determining the displacement of said platform.

9. The combination with a butter cutter, of a platform adapted to bedisplaced parallel to itself, rotatable means for displacing saidplatform, a clutch on said rotatable means, a Worm-and-gear operated bysaid clutch, a dial, and a pointer operated by said Worm-and-gear forindicating the displacement of said platform.

10. The combination With stationary cutting members, spaced apart andlocated in one plane, of a vertically moving platform adapted to force ablock of butter through said cutting members, cutting means comprising acutting member adapted to cooperate with said stationary members, andmovable only in a plane substantially the same as that of the stationarycutting members, a carrier for and at each end of said cutting member,and crank operated rotatable means for moving said carriers back andforth to operate said cutting member.

11. The combination with stationary cutting members, spaced apart andlocated in one plane, of a vertically moving platform adapted to force ablock of butter through said cutting members, cutting means comprising acutting member adapted to cooperate with said stationary members andmovable only in a plane substantially the same as that of the stationarycutting mem bers, a carrier for and at each end of said cutting member,an endless belt secured to each of said carriers, and means forsimultaneously moving said belts back and forth to operate said cuttingmember.

12. The combination with stationary cutting members, spaced apart andlocated in one plane, of a vertically moving platform adapted to force ablock of butter through said cutting members, cutting means comprising acutting member adapted to co6perate with said stationary members, andmovable only in the plane thereof, a carrier for and at each end of saidcutting member, an endless belt secured to each of said carriers, androtatable means for simultaneously moving said belts back and forth tooperate sald cuttmg member.

13. The combination with stationary cutting members, spaced apart andlocated in one plane of a vertically moving platform adapted to force ablock of butter through said cutting members, a cutting member adaptedto cooperate with said stationary members and movable only insubstantially the same plane, a carrier for and at each end of saidcutting member, an endless belt secured to each of said carriers, androtatable means for simultaneously moving said belts back and forth tooperate said cutting member, consisting of two shafts arranged belts arewound.

parallel to each other and a pulley on each end of each shaft aroundwhich pulleys said JOSEPH F. SCANLAN.

In presence RALPH J. SAOHERS. G. M. GRTNDLAY.

, Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, byaddressing the Commissioner of Patent Washington, D. G.

